Mutation
hideIn biology, mutations are changes to the nucleotide sequence of the genetic material of an organism. Mutations can be caused by copying errors in the genetic material during cell division, by exposure to ultraviolet or ionizing radiation, chemical mutagens, or viruses, or can be induced by the organism itself, by cellular processes such as hypermutation. In multicellular organisms with dedicated reproductive cells, mutations can be subdivided into germ line mutations, which can be passed on to descendants through the reproductive cells, and somatic mutations, which involve cells outside the dedicated reproductive group and which are not usually transmitted to descendants. If the organism can reproduce asexually through mechanisms such as cuttings or budding the distinction can become blurred. For example, plants can sometimes transmit somatic mutations to their descendants asexually or sexually where flower buds develop in somatically mutated parts of plants. A new mutation that was not inherited from either parent is called a de novo mutation. The source of the mutation is unrelated to the consequence, although the consequences are related to which cells were mutated.
Mutations create variation within the gene pool. Less favorable (or deleterious) mutations can be reduced in frequency in the gene pool by natural selection, while more favorable (beneficial or advantageous) mutations may accumulate and result in adaptive evolutionary changes. For example, a butterfly may produce offspring with new mutations. The majority of these mutations will have no effect; but one might change the color of one of the butterfly's offspring, making it harder (or easier) for predators to see. If this color change is advantageous, the chance of this butterfly surviving and producing its own offspring are a little better, and over time the number of butterflies with this mutation may form a larger percentage of the population.
Neutral mutations are defined as mutations whose effects do not influence the fitness of an individual. These can accumulate over time due to genetic drift. It is believed that the overwhelming majority of mutations have no significant effect on an organism's fitness. Also, DNA repair mechanisms are able to mend most changes before they become permanent mutations, and many organisms have mechanisms for eliminating otherwise permanently mutated somatic cells.
Mutation is generally accepted by the scientific community as the mechanism upon which natural selection acts, providing the advantageous new traits that survive and multiply in offspring or disadvantageous traits that die out with weaker organisms.
For more information about Mutation, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with gene mutation
Higher incidence of thyroid cancer in volcanic area of Sicily
Nov 05, 2009 |
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People living in volcanic areas may be at a higher risk for thyroid cancer, according to a new study published online November 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Survival of the healthiest: Selective eradication of malignant cells
Nov 05, 2009 |
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The ultimate goal in cancer research, a treatment that kills cancer cells whilst leaving healthy cells untouched, is brought nearer by the success of a new therapeutic approach. The potential therapy, published in BioMed ...
No test needed for hand-foot genital syndrome in women without HOXA13 gene mutation
Oct 19, 2009 |
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Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale, and colleagues have found that women without mutations of the HOXA13 gene do not need to be subjected to x-rays ...
Gene mingling increases sudden death risk
Oct 12, 2009 |
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A multi-national research team has discovered that two genetic factors converge to increase the risk of sudden cardiac death.
Scientists find autism-associated synapse alterations
Oct 12, 2009 |
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A Stanford University School of Medicine researcher has pinpointed the mechanism by which a gene associated with both autism and schizophrenia influences behavior in mice.
Breast cancer patients with high risk gene diagnosed six years earlier than generation before
Oct 09, 2009 |
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Women with a deleterious gene mutation are diagnosed with breast cancer six years earlier than relatives of the previous generation who also had the disease and/or ovarian cancer, according to new research from The University ...
Fish go mad for ginger gene
Sep 28, 2009 |
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There may be plenty of fish in the sea but the medaka knows what it likes. A new study published in the open access journal BMC Biology shows how a single gene mutation that turns Japanese Killifish a drab ...
Severe Epilepsy Linked to Gene Mutation
Sep 14, 2009 |
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University of Utah medical researchers have identified a gene with mutations that cause febrile seizures and contribute to a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome in some of the most vulnerable patients - infants ...
Team reveals molecular mechanism underlying a form of diabetes
Sep 08, 2009 |
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By investigating a rare and severe form of diabetes in children, University of Iowa researchers have discovered a new molecular mechanism that regulates specialized pancreatic cells and insulin secretion. The mechanism involves ...
Discovery leads to rapid mouse 'personalized trials' in breast cancer
Sep 04, 2009 |
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One person's breast cancer is not the same as another person's, because the gene mutations differ in each tumor. That makes it difficult to match the best therapy with the individual patient.
Computational process zeroes in on top genetic cancer suspects
Sep 01, 2009 |
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Johns Hopkins engineers have devised innovative computer software that can sift through hundreds of genetic mutations and highlight the DNA changes that are most likely to promote cancer. The goal is to provide ...
Breast cancer: Risk increases for smokers and overweight women
Sep 01, 2009 |
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A recent study published in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology has reinforced the correlation between being overweight, smoking and breast cancer. What makes this study unique is how test subjects were not diagnosed for BR ...
Biologists identify the molecular basis of high-altitude adaptation in mice
Aug 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Biologists have long known how adaptive evolution works. New mutations arise within a population and those that confer some benefits to the organism increase in frequency and eventually become ...
Developing gene therapy to fight blindness
Jul 29, 2009 |
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An international team of scientists and clinicians from the United States and Saudi Arabia are working to develop gene therapy for treating a rare, hereditary retinal disease. The therapy has been shown to restore lost vision ...
Researchers create first targeted knockout rats using zinc finger nuclease technology
Jul 23, 2009 |
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Scientists from The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Sangamo Biosciences, Inc., Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT) and INSERM today announced the creation of the first genetically ...
